Coleg Cambria Transforms Teaching and Learning with Chromebooks and Google Apps
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Case Study | Chromebooks and Google Apps for Education Coleg Cambria transforms teaching and learning with Chromebooks and Google Apps Background Coleg Cambria in North Wales was formed following the merger of Deeside College and Yale College, Wrexham in August 2013. It is now one of the largest colleges in the UK, serving over 7,000 full time, and 30,000 part-time, students, and is spread across six campuses. Coleg Cambria caters for a wide range of specialisms and has a 900 acre dairy farm and land for forestry, offering courses on subjects from hair and beauty through to agriculture, At a Glance engineering and ICT. What they wanted to do • Roll out a cost-effective, flexible mobile Challenge solution to a large number of students As the College has expanded, the need for more computers has increased – and staff putting pressure on its IT department. Mark Brandish, Head of IT Services, What they did Coleg Cambria, explains, “We desperately needed more computers, but didn’t • Bought 2,000 Chromebooks and moved want to build any more IT suites full of desktop PCs. The rooms just weren’t all students and staff onto Google Apps flexible enough for teaching, and we wanted a more mobile solution. We for Education considered buying netbooks, but weren’t convinced they were good value What they accomplished for money.” • Transformed day-to-day teaching and learning Solution Brandish believed that Google Chromebooks, (laptops that provide fast, affordable, and easy-to-manage computing that allows students to learn anytime, anywhere), were the answer. These would be used in conjunction with Google Apps, Google’s collaboration and communications suite. “My team weren’t sure how they would be used, but I could really see the potential. Students had Microsoft Live@edu accounts, which they mainly used for shared storage. Staff all had Microsoft Exchange accounts. I knew that if we moved to Google Apps, they’d see what can be achieved when you collaborate with others,” he comments. In September 2011, Brandish bought 30 Chromebooks. “The students made use of them immediately and feedback was positive. The day the trial started, everyone wanted to know what they could achieve with the Chromebooks and Google Apps,” he says. “ The great thing about Chromebooks is that they are really easy to roll out to large numbers of people. The most complicated thing about setting them up is taking them out of the box when you get them.” —Mark Brandish, Head of ICT Services, Coleg Cambria Although there was initial resistance about replacing desktop applications, it was short-lived. Following the initial trial, the demand for more Chromebooks grew, driven by students and staff. By the end of that academic year, the College had purchased 700, and at the beginning of Summer term 2012 that number had risen to over 1,000. It now has close to 2,000. The Chromebooks are kept in classrooms around the College for students and staff to pick up and use when they need to. They are lightweight and have a long battery life, so this also offers a practical solution. Benefits Brandish hasn’t purchased a desktop PC for the College since the Chromebooks were introduced. “The great thing about Chromebooks is that they are really easy to roll out to large numbers of people. The most complicated thing about setting them up is taking them out of the box when you get them. If we had decided to roll out laptops, it would have taken ages to set them up with the right software, issue them, and then keep them updated. I can’t see how we would have done it – I would have needed to hire more staff.” The fact that the Chromebooks can be managed centrally through a console or through the Chrome browser is also a key benefit. The devices themselves do not become cluttered with individuals’ applications. Instead, students simply log onto their Google Apps account to view all their documents, emails and resources. Tutors can customise the applications specific groups of students can see when they sign in, and then they can access them on whatever device they are using, wherever they are. Students are also encouraged to install apps they think would be useful for a particular project. “ The Chromebooks have been so positive for us. You can go into any class from welding to hairdressing and they are being used. Training has also been minimal.” —Mark Brandish, Head of ICT Services, Coleg Cambria Brandish says, “The freedom for students and tutors to find and work with interesting applications - anything from anatomy to mind-mapping – has changed the way they think about learning and teaching. Traditionally students and teachers have just taken what we’ve provided – now we’re a facilitator, giving them access to tools that allow them to be more innovative. “The Chromebooks just work,” he continues. “They are reliable, and give you About Google Apps for Education quick and easy access to Google Apps. Students love collaborating on projects Over 30 million students, faculty, and staff use Google Apps for Education worldwide. both in and outside of classes. One student from the Travel and Tourism Google Apps is a free suite of hosted email department missed the bus, but was still able to participate on a group and collaboration applications exclusively presentation with the rest of the class through Google Apps.” for schools and universities. You can learn more and sign up to try it out by visiting The use of Google Apps and Chromebooks was also beneficial as Coleg our website: Cambria was formed. Although Brandish was working across Deeside College and Yale College during the merger, the fact that they both used Google Apps www.google.co.uk/a/edu and Chromebooks made the job of integrating the two Colleges much easier. Brandish explains, “The Chromebooks have been so positive for us. You About Google Chromebooks can go into any class from welding to hairdressing and they are being Chromebooks are fast, portable computers used. Training has also been minimal. Once students have been shown that give students access to the web’s rich collaborative editing through Google Docs, they instantly see the benefits educational tools & resources. Educators can manage Chromebooks easily from and pick up the Chromebooks.” their web-based Admin Console. And In the future, Brandish wants to change the College’s IT suites into flexible starting at just £199 per device including teaching spaces. “Once you put computers in a room and bolt them down, Google Apps for Education for free, these computers make technology affordable they become sterile environments, which aren’t inspirational for teaching for schools. You can learn more here: in. Each time you walk past one of the rooms that has a Chromebook in it, the layout is completely different. Our strategy is to move away from buying www.google.co.uk/intl/en/chrome/ desktop PCs – it’s more likely that we will take them out and replace them education/devices/ with Chromebooks. That way, our students can continue to find new and inspiring ways to work together and get the most from using Google Apps and online resources for their studies,” he says. © 2013 Google Inc. All rights reserved. Google and the Google logo are trademarks of Google Inc. 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